UCI Office of the Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor
Fall 2023 Newsletter
Fall colors show on the UCI campus Photo: Steve Zylius/UCI
Provost Hal S. Stern

Dear colleagues,

Welcome back! I hope that your summer was productive, and also provided an opportunity to recharge. It is exciting to welcome students to campus for the fall quarter and the beginning of the academic year.

The arrival of fall quarter is also a good time focus on some campus achievements from last year. UCI received a record $653 million in research funding for fiscal year 2022-23 – funding which fuels the kind of research that advances our institutional mission and earns international recognition. Congratulations to the many faculty and staff who have made this achievement possible. In this issue, you can read about some of our recent research successes and faculty and staff honors.

Thank you for your hard work to prepare our campus for the 2023-24 year ahead and for your continued contributions to our academic excellence. I wish you a healthy and productive fall quarter.

Hal Stern
Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor
Chancellor's Professor, Statistics

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

People

  • UCI Appoints Aldrich and Peltason Endowed Chairs
  • Stephanie Reyes-Tuccio Honored as Woman of the Year (Twice!)
  • Adey M. Nyamathi Honored as Living Legend by American Academy of Nursing
  • Maxx Arguilla Named Among American Chemical Society's "Talented 12"
  • Han Li Named Finalist in Blavatnik National Awards for Young Scientists
  • Patty Morales Celebrated as Education Champion by Amazon Web Services
  • Joel Veenstra Earns Teaching Award from Higher Ed Theatre Association
  • 2023 Staff Appreciation Week

Academic Excellence

  • UCI Receives Record $653M in Research Funding
  • UCI Researchers Show How Smells Can Produce a Major Memory Boost
  • Study Finds Pre-K Helps Reduce Achievement Gaps for Black and Hispanic Children
  • UCI Professors Garner State Support for Climate Action Projects
  • Mehrsa Baradaran's Book Cited in Supreme Court Affirmative Action Case
  • NIH Award Advances BRAIN Initiative Research
  • UCI Scientists Develop Risk Model to Estimate Storm Impacts and Costs

Inclusive Excellence

  • UCI Joins Hillel International's Campus Climate Initiative
  • Dual-Language Immersion 6th Graders Participate in Bio Sci's Scientist for a Day Program
  • Public Health Grad Student Manuel Antunez Aims to Empower LGBTQ+ Community
  • Accessibility Research Collective Focuses on Issues Related to Technology and Disability

Student Success

  • UCI Joins Unizin Consortium to Enhance Student Success
  • Psychology Major Carolina Llerenas Selected for UC Regents Foster Youth Award
  • UCI Law and Honors Collegium Offer Accelerated Path to Bachelor's and J.D.
  • Pharmacy Faculty Lead Development of Student Mental Health Resources
  • UCI ANTrepreneur Center Joins Forces with the OC Startup Council
People
             

UCI Appoints Aldrich and Peltason Chairs

Julie Shoenung
Julie Schoenung, Distinguished Professor and Chair, Materials Science and Engineering, has been named the Daniel G. Aldrich, Jr. Endowed Chair. The Aldrich Chair was established in 1984 to honor the contributions made to the campus by UCI's founding chancellor. The Aldrich Chair's purpose is to honor an outstanding scholar and teacher of the highest distinction whose research has been widely and internationally recognized and acclaimed. Professor Schoenung is being recognized for her contributions to the advancement of materials research.
Albert La Spada
Albert La Spada, Distinguished Professor, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, and Neurology, has been named the Jack W. Peltason Endowed Chair. The Peltason Chair was established in 2007 in honor of UCI's second chancellor. The Peltason Chair is appointed to a professor with a demonstrated commitment to working collaboratively with other academic disciplines while being engaged in research and teaching. Professor La Spada is being recognized for his contributions as a highly collaborative scientist and a national leader in biomedical research and genetics education.
 
Read more
 
AWARDS AND ACCOLADES 
Stephanie Reyes-Tuccio
Stephanie Reyes-Tuccio Honored as Woman of the Year (Twice!)
Adey M. Nyamathi
Adey M. Nyamathi Honored as Living Legend by American Academy of Nursing
Maxx Arguilla
Maxx Arguilla Named Among American Chemical Society's "Talented 12"
Han Li
Han Li Named Finalist in Blavatnik National Awards for Young Scientists
Patty Morales
Patty Morales Celebrated as Education Champion by Amazon Web Services
Joel Veenstra
Joel Veenstra Earns Teaching Award from Higher Ed Theatre Association
Staff Appreciation Week - October 9-13, 2023 - JOIN THE FUN!
Academic Excellence
            
UCI Receives Record $653M in Research Funding for Fiscal Year 2022-23 - Read about some of the funded research projects from across campus
RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS 
UC Irvine researchers (left to right) Michael Leon, Cynthia Woo and Michael Yassa participated in the study.
UCI Researchers Show How Smells Can Produce a Major Memory Boost
Jade Jenkins
Study Finds Pre-K Helps Reduce Achievement Gaps for Black and Hispanic Children
UCI researchers (from left) Alejandro Camacho, Isabella Velicogna and Steven Allison
UCI Professors Garner State Support for Climate Action Projects
Mehrsa Baradaran
Mehrsa Baradaran's Book Cited in Supreme Court Affirmative Action Case
Xiangmin Xu, Autumn Ivy, Bert Semler, Todd Holmes and Orkide Koyuncu (from left) will expand the production and distribution of cell-type-specific viral targeting reagents. Steve Zylius / UCI
NIH Award Advances BRAIN Initiative Research
Jane Baldwin, UC Irvine professor of Earth system science
UCI Scientists Develop Risk Model to Estimate Storm Impacts and Costs
Inclusive Excellence
            
IA graphic of the Jewish Star of David with doves flying around
UCI Joins Hillel International's Campus Climate Initiative
6th grade students in a lab
Dual-Language Immersion 6th Graders Participate in Bio Sci's Scientist for a Day Program
Manuel Antunez
Public Health Grad Student Manuel Antunez Aims to Empower LGBTQ+ Community
Professor Stacy Branham and graduate students Isabela Figueira and Cameron Cassidy visiting students at Loma Ridge Elementary School.
Accessibility Research Collective Focuses on Issues Related to Technology and Disability
Student Success
          

UCI Joins Unizin Consortium to Enhance Student Success


Students at the Student Center. Steve Zylius / UCI

UCI has joined Unizin, a consortium of leading academic and research institutions committed to optimizing digital transformation in higher education, to give the university access to knowledge sharing and analytics tools to elevate its data-informed student success initiative UCI Compass. This collaboration comes at a time when UCI is ramping up efforts to use digital intelligence and data to improve educational equity.

 
Read more
 
Education Students
Psychology Major Carolina Llerenas Selected for UC Regents Foster Youth Award
UCI Law and UCI Campuswide Honors Collegium Launch Scholarship and 3+3 Accelerated Program
UCI Law and Honors Collegium Offer Accelerated Path to Bachelor's and J.D.
Students walking around Ring Road
Pharmacy Faculty Lead Development of Student Mental Health Resources
UCI ANTrepreneur Center
UCI ANTrepreneur Center Joins Forces with the OC Startup Council
ACADEMIC NEWS 
  • Arts
  • Biological Sciences
  • Business
  • Education
  • Engineering
  • Humanities
  • Information & Computer Sciences
  • Law
  • Medicine
  • Nursing
  • Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences
  • Physical Sciences
  • Public Health
  • Social Ecology
  • Social Sciences
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